Scotiabank withdraws bid for stake in Bank of Guangzhou

July 12 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia said on
Friday it has withdrawn
its application to acquire a nearly 20 percent stake in Bank of
Guangzhou, after Chinese authorities decided against proceeding
with the C$719 million ($691.28 million) deal.

Scotiabank, Canada's No. 3 lender, had warned in May that
Chinese authorities were reevaluating whether they wanted to go
ahead with the deal that was originally struck back in September
2011.

Bank of Guangzhou is primarily government-owned and is not
publicly listed. Guangzhou, with a population of around 13
million, is about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Hong Kong.

Scotiabank had said recent changes in municipal and federal
leadership in China had prompted authorities there to rethink
the deal.